From 1999 through 2010, a humble little house on the border of Pasadena and Altadena, California was one of the hubs of the early Star Trek fan film scene. The house belonged to fan filmmaker and CG artist ROB CAVES, and it served as the “studio” for 50 episodes of STAR TREK: HIDDEN FRONTIER and another 20 episodes of multiple spin-offs fan films and series. I was there for the filming of several episodes, and even appeared in one as an alien guard.
The house had a living room and kitchen in the front where actors and crew would hang out between scenes, a master bedroom off the kitchen where Rob slept, and the rest of the space was dedicated to serving as a studio. One bedroom/office was turned into a make-up room with mirrors, a countertop, and wigs and prosthetics against the opposite wall. Here’s a photo of me getting into makeup in 2008…
Another alcove held costumes, a third was dedicated to the green screen, and a back room was used for equipment like lights and boom mics. And finally, in a small nook in the very back of the house—only large enough for one or two people to sit at a single desk and crammed with digital equipment—Rob would squeeze himself in to composite the green screen footage against virtual backgrounds while scenes were being filmed. (Those were the days when video files were still very large and hard to edit; so it wasn’t practical for a non-professional to capture green screen footage first and then composite it later.)
Rob has since moved on from producing Star Trek fan films and is actually rather passionately involved in model trains these days. But he and I still have some contact every now and then. Last night, I e-mailed him to check if he was safe. I didn’t hear back directly, but this morning on Facebook, I saw him post the following to his feed…
Continue reading “California wildfires threaten the house where 70 episodes of STAR TREK: HIDDEN FRONTIER and its spin-offs were filmed!”
